What is your most important climate goal?

Has technology become our Achilles heel or can it help save us? Mother earth and nature is under constant pressure, and the climate seems to change in a negative way, so some ambitious and innovative climate initiatives have long been on the political agenda. There are enough challenges already! The worldwide population density is increasing, we produce too much in the industry, there are massive food waste versus hunger and famine, we still spend too high amounts of energy and fossil fuels, the industry pollutes and the oceans are flowing with plastic.

But it is always easier to address the problems, instead of finding solutions, especially when the world’s leading industrialized countries can not agree and do not want to share the responsibility.

PlastOil: The machine that can change everything
As a sustainable company, we feel a certain amount of responsibility and we will always try to make a difference. In day-to-day life, our focus is innovative LED technology, but one of the main issues we often have discussed with partners and other companies in sustainable business networks is the ability to recycle plastic, converting a non-degradable material into a useful and more environmentally friendly fuel. Long story short: This resulted in the PlastOil project and led to the invention of the PlastOil machine, which purpose is to recycle plastic and transform it into sustainable fuel.

We do not have the competence, the time nor the economy for such an extensive project, but at the same time we wanted to be involved in this important project. Together with Genplast, Reno Nord and Aalborg University, we are now ready to test the machine and get all data analyzed before we can take the next step forward and hopefully put the machine in production in Denmark/Europe. To manage this process and collect the important data, we have reached out to AAU, and made a cooperation agreement with 29-year-old Jonas Fischer Malskaer, who is on his 9th semester in Environmental Management and Sustainable Science.

In connection with his role in the PlastOil project we have asked him some questions so we all can become a little smarter on the extremely important project with possible huge potential:

Can you briefly describe the PlastOil project?– In short, the PlastOil project is a machine which should pave the way for recycling and conversion of plastic to sustainable fuel. This includes a lot of preparation. In a recycling process you have to analyze both material (plastic), then the fuel and its production and then compare the results to the CO2 emission. Could it be done at all, and does it pay off compared to other sustainable projects.

What is your role and your expectations for the project?– In the first test stage there are a lot of new data to be analyzed and a lot of issues to be highlighted before we can move on. It is my job to control the communication between those implicated in the project, then focus on the data and pitfalls before the machine hopefully can be put into production and contribute to a healthier, more green future.

How far are you in testing the machine?– There are other similar sustainable technologies worldwide, but we are also ready with initiatives in North Jutland. I have to clarified what challenges there may be in importing the PlastOil machine. It is very important to test the materials to find out if it is all kinds of plastic that the machine can recycle and convert, and then measure the machine’s sustainability with other technologies. It is super exciting, but also extensive. It requires a whole lot of tests and data. However, I have personally high expectations for the project, and I really hope that the machine turns out to be as groundbreaking, as we think. I have already got the first data…

How big is the potential of this machine?– Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched, as you say, but compared with the United Nations climate panel and the actual goals for both 2020 and 2030, this machine can (if it works) help to reduce the huge plastic problem and create the perfect loop for recycling a material that creates more and more environmental challenges. Therefore, it is important for companies and sustainability enthusiasts to pursue greener initiatives, using innovative knowledge in order to utilize technologies and solving an overriding problem.

CO2LIGHT’s most important climate target

Out of the 17 presented climate targets formulated by the United Nations, CO2LIGHT’s main focus, both as a company and enthusiasts in sustainability, is to contribute to positive green development in the environment (No. 13 – Climate Action). We usually say that it is our responsibility to make a difference – not only with LED technology, but in general. If we can use our large business network to promote a green development, and contribute to initiatives that documented can help this development, we have already won.

If the project becomes a reality, whether all the data is positive and the machine is sustainable enough, time will tell.We will thoroughly follow Jonas’ clarifying syudies with PlastOil.